Showing posts with label interview. Show all posts
Showing posts with label interview. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

An Interview with Breast Cancer Survivor, Mary Micari


What You Can Do and The Breast Cancer Site team up for Interviews with Breast Cancer Survivors.  In this video, Mary Micari discusses her experience and offers advice on how to navigate through the process.  

And remember to click at www.TheBreastCancerSite.com to help fund free mammograms for women in need!



Produced by: On the Leesh Productions
Featuring: Mary Micari
Directed by: Alicia Arinella
Edited & Shot by: James McGann
Production Manager: Sarah Schwartz
Music By: Buick Audra
What You Can Do Logo Created by: SCG Siddharth Creative Group

Special Thanks:  Rosemary Jones, Nikki Burns, Hannah Levin and Everyone at The Greater Good, Ruth Ann Elias and Dennis Arinella

For more information on What You Can Do, please visit:

For more information on On the Leesh Productions, please visit:

For more information on The Breast Cancer Site, please visit:

For more information on The Greater Good, please visit:

For more information Buick Audra, please visit:

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One Minute Ways for Couples to Help Save the World



We are so excited about the story about What You Can Do in The Nest, an online magazine for couples (check out the article on pg. 9).

There are many fun and easy ways couples can help save the world in just a minute - check out the list and videos below and let us know your ideas at www.facebook.com/whatyoucando!

1) Click to Give Whether you're checking up on your fantasy football team or online shopping, check out www.greatergood.com and click to help issues such as hunger, animal welfare and breast cancer prevention.

2) The Giving Season Celebrate the spirit of giving at your holiday party - ask guests to bring canned goods to donate to a local food bank.

3) Turn Off the Tap Hold a contest to see who's better at remembering to shut off the tap while brushing your teeth to conserve water. First one who forgets has to buy a nice bottle of wine or dessert.

4) Online Buzz for Good Along with posting cute pics of your dog and/or kids, use your social media power to raise awareness for a cause that inspires your passion once per month.

5) Look for the Little Green Frog If it's your turn to grocery shop, look for the Rainforest Alliance's "little green frog" symbol on products such as chocolate and coffee to help preserve our rainforests.

6) Shop Local Also at the grocery store or farmers market, choose local produce when possible to reduce your carbon footprint (i.e. the emissions contributing to global warming).

7) Protect the Night To keep your home safer and help protect the darkness of night (which is crucial for the environment and human/animal health), reduce inside lighting and choose shielded or motion sensing exterior fixtures.

8) Ocean Love Download the Seafood Watch app from the Monterey Bay Aquarium to help choose sustainable seafood at your favorite restaurants.

9) Time to Unplug When heading out of town for the weekend, unplug your electronics (make it easier by using power strips) to reduce energy consumption and your power bill.

10) Start a Kindness Chain Get creative with ideas to spread kindness in your community - cook a delicious meal for an elderly neighbor or help a mom with her groceries at the store.
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Tuesday, June 28, 2011

An Interview with Rupert Scofield (Part 2)

Here is Part 2 of our interview with Rupert Scofield. We'd love to hear your comments!

Want to get caught up? You can view Part 1 here.

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Monday, June 27, 2011

An Interview with Rupert Scofield (Part 1)

A little while ago, the team at What You Can Do was honored to have the opportunity to interview the President and CEO of FINCA, Mr. Rupert Scofield. Mr. Scofield has recently published the book, The Social Entrepreneur's Hanbook: How to Start, Build and Run a Business That Improves the World.

He sat down with What You Can Do creator, Jessica Arinella to talk about his experience with FINCA, to explain what microfinancing is exactly and to talk about his new book. This is Part 1 of our 5 part interview. Please check it out!


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Thursday, April 7, 2011

Gardening Tips: An Interview


The basis of the "What You Can Do" series is to offer the average person actionable ideas to make a difference about whatever issues speaks to them most. Alicia and I met Andrew Spilberg while producing a corporate video for PRG. He's a master at his job and travels all around the world working to make some of the biggest events, concerts and award shows awe-inspiring. In chatting with Andrew we discovered that not only is he some kind of technical genius, he, along with his wife, is becoming a master gardener. Essentially, he's a "What You Can Do" All-Star. He's changed some of his carbon footprints into earth-friendly tracks that lead to a backyard organic garden. Since I myself have been known to kill a cactus, I thought he'd be a great person to talk to.

Read on for some tips and some inspiration on how you too can create your own produce garden!


What made you want to begin gardening at home? Was it just because you were interested in the experience of gardening, or was it so that you could reduce the cost of your produce and control how it was grown?

Andrew: My inspiration for gardening at home as two fold. First we, my wife deserves credit as well, had a side yard that we just finished terracing. Previously it was an area that was about a 3' tall slope that was about 10' deep and 50' long. It was covered with a flowering ground cover seen along major highways here in California. It had to go. By terracing the area we were able to create two flat areas that were 100% useable. Once complete we quickly decided that some raised planting beds would be nice. In turn we built four 5' square redwood box frames. I made them stackable so we could either have four that were 1' tall or one that was 4' tall. However in the 12+ years that we have had the garden we have always had four.

Secondly we had a need to landscape the backyard. When it came time to buy plants and trees we started out slow with the ornamental variety. They looked nice but they were very expensive. One day I saw a "Citrus Fruit Salad" tree at our local garden center. It had lemon, lime, two varieties of oranges, and a tangerine grafted to one tree. How cool was this! A tree to fill an area and it produced fruit that I liked. SOLD! From then on no matter what we planted in the back yard we decided that it had to produce something that could be eaten. Over the years we added a grapes, blueberry, artichoke, rosemary, Fuji Apple, Asian Pear, and Cherry trees. They have all done a wonderful job in helping to landscape the yard as well as produce fantastic fruits and vegetables.

In the raised planters and the terraced areas we plant seasonal vegetables including; Lettuce, Beet, Corn, Peas, Beans, Peppers, Sunflower, Eggplant, Pumpkin, Watermelon, Zucchini, Radish, and whatever we find that looks interesting. We especially like the heirloom varieties that are next to impossible to find in any store.


Why did you choose to create an organic garden?

A: There was a point in the first year of our garden when I was standing in the garden center of our local home improvement store trying to decide what chemical solution I should buy. I was reading the labels to make sure that the bug or weed was included on the list of things that it would kill. I began to question what happened to those chemicals after they were applied and were done doing their job. Did I really want to apply something that had more warnings about its use then a chainsaw? I put the chemicals down and started to walk out the store when I noticed some tubs of Lady Bugs at the register. I picked one up and low and behold those little guys would eat my problems away. That is where it began. That container led me to a website where I was able to see benefits of using lady bugs and my personal favorite praying mantis. While we didn't intentionally set out to produce an organic garden it just sort of turned out that way.

What advice would you give someone who wants to start their own garden? Any lessons learned?

A: Even if you don't have a back yard there are other alternatives. A community garden area, a window box, or just a single plant in a pot. Not too much of an investment can lead to big rewards.

Fertilize with compost. Not only will you be sending less material to the landfill it will improve the soil and your plants will reward you.

Would you advise someone to start with one vegetable or fruit only, or would you tell someone to just go for it?

A: If you aren't ready to jump in with both feet, that's ok. Start with a single plant in a pot, something that you like. I would suggest a tomato or a strawberry. Do a little research and ask for help if you think you are running into problems. The internet, "farmer's almanac" and your neighbors are good sources of information. Don't get discouraged if you don't end up with a crop of fruits a vegetables that will feed the neighborhood. My cherry tree is not a big producer. In the first five years it produced a grand total of two cherries. Two years ago it produced one cherry. Last year it produced twelve. That was a 1200% increase over the previous year. I wish I could do that with the stock market. Admittedly twelve cherries isn't much but progress is progress.


Do you find that the produce you grow in your backyard tastes different than supermarket produce?

A. I do find that what we grow in our garden has more intense flavors and are sweeter. I think we can attribute that to the fact that we control when something is picked. Just one extra day can make all the difference in a strawberry. There isn't anything to get in the way from the time something is picked until it is being served in a salad, made into a pie, or grilled.

Anything else you'd like to share?

A. My dad likes the results of our efforts as well. He calls it "Andrews Victory Garden." He was born in the '30s and says that our garden reminds him of the victory gardens that his parents, friends and neighbors planted during WWII.

My dwarf citrus fruit salad tree produces more lemons and limes twice a year than our family of four can consume. Share what you grow with your family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, and local food bank.

Here are a few links to some resources that I think are great:
Gardens Alive: http://www.gardensalive.com/
Beneficial Insects 101: http://www.beneficialinsects101.com
Farmers' Almanac: http://www.farmersalmanac.com/
Composting info: http://www.howtocompost.org or http://earthmatter.org/
Victory Garden info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victory_garden

Thanks again to Andrew for his insight!

Signing off,
Julie
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Wednesday, March 30, 2011

An interview with a director of the Vagina Monologues

A year ago the What You Can Do team went to the Fourth Universalist Society in the City of New York to film a rehearsal of their upcoming production of The Vagina Monologues. Though schedules didn't permit a visit this year, we were able to interview the current director of the production, Erin Bigelow. This year's production marks their 3rd year performing Eve Ensler's groundbreaking show.

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Can you tell us a little bit about the history of The Vagina Monologues.
Eve Ensler wrote and performed the play "The Vagina Monologues" 17 years ago. The play began as a culmination of interviews with 200 women from all walks of life. The play ran Off Broadway for 5 years and in 1998 V-Day was established with a star-studded performance of The Monologues at Hammerstein Ballroom in NY. The mission of V-Day is to completely end violence against women and girls. Every year there is a new global spotlight campaign for the focus of the funds raised bringing V-Day to 130 countries as of today including countries like Afghanistan, The Congo, Asia, and Egypt. The V-Day movement has raised over $80 million and reached over 300 million people.

Please tell us about your version of The Vagina Monologues?
This year our 'theme' for 4th U's production of The Vagina Monologues is "Make Yourself At Home". The idea of the space is much like a red tent, to be comfortable and inviting as if you were in your own livingroom where you would share your stories with friends. We're also incorporating media throughout the production this year, not to distract but to enhance the message of the monologues.

What is the focus of your production?
This year our Spotlight Campaign is for the women and girls of Haiti. After the January 12th, 2010 earthquake shook the center of the country and destroyed 60% of it's infrastructure, most people were left with less than nothing. Before the quake, 74% of Hatian women were suffereing from rape and abuse. After the earthquake these women were left even more vulnerable to the rise in gang violence, and the V-Day safe haven that had been created by Eve Ensler in 2005 was also gone. 10% of the funds from the productions this year are going to create a safer country for women and girls addressing gender-based-violence in post-earthquake Haiti.

If someone wanted to get involved and help - what can they do?
Anyone can buy tickets to our performances (April 8th and 9th @ 8pm) and/or donate online at: Tickets.
We're always in need of donators! If you own a company or provide a service, we're holding a raffle at our Vagina Fair (starting at 7pm both nights) and are accepting any and all donations for our raffle. We're also accepting all theater crew assistance!
If you're interested in learning more about VDay's history and current efforts in Haiti, I'd encourage you to come to our Haiti Teach-In on Saturday, April 23rd. It will be followed by a benefit classical piano concert offered by Emir Gamsızoğlu.

Anything else you would like us to know?
Fortunately, this year we're expanding our diversity in the cast to the deaf community, as well as the expansion and inclusion of a beautiful array of ethnicities. The entire production will be ASL interpreted.

The 'V' in V-Day stands for Victory, Valentine and Vagina
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